By JOSH BOUTWELL

The Opp Lady Bobcats advanced to the third round of the winners bracket in the Girls 3A Varsity Softball Regional Friday with wins over Slocomb and Excel.

The Lady Bobcats started off their winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Slocomb, led by scoring runs from Maggie Short and Jewel Robinson in the second inning. The Lady Bobcats managed to clamp down defensively and shut out Slocomb for the remainder of the game.

Opp followed that win up with a win over the Excel Lady Panthers 5-3 despite a late comeback from the Panthers. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning the Lady Bobcats extended their lead when Bailee Boyd, Sara Ballard, and Morgan Pierce all scored runs in the third inning to extend the lead 5-1.

Opp further extended its lead 5-2 heading into the final inning and the Lady Bobcats had Excel on the ropes with two outs when Excel managed a score to close the gap to 5-3. Following an injury to Opp’s Ariyon Hightower the Lady Bobcats rallied and put away Excel to secure their spot in the third round of the Winner’s Bracket Saturday morning.

Opp faces the Geneva/Dale County winner Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.